


Sleepy desires

by CTtrajan



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: And like, Fluff, M/M, Ruggie is perceptive and Sumi is a dork, Self Ship, Self indulgence, Self-Insert, Sleeping Together, Sleepy Cuddles, a lot of cuddles actually, body language and sutff, dacnes around, good., heehooo more self shipping, i realise the title is misleading
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27530992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CTtrajan/pseuds/CTtrajan
Summary: Yawning as he woke up, Sumi Gallidi wiped away the sleep from his eyes, failing as another yawn attacked. He wasn't used to waking up this early. The morning practice hadn't even started yet! Drearily, he stumbled through the corridors, only being held upright by his reptilian tail that snaked to the floor. He wished he was back in bed but he was now too hungry to sleep. Blurred golden eyes lazily flicked from side to side as he wandered like a drunk. Just then, a figure walked into his sight, scratching his dirty blonde hair as his hyena ears flickered. Not thinking clearly, Sumi called out to him."Bucchi-senpaiii."Hearing his name called, Ruggie paused in his stride and then froze as Sumi sleepily lay his head on his shoulder, too disorientated to realise what he was doing.-*-*-*-Sumi Gallidi isn't normally so sleepy but when he can't sleep one night and wakes up hungry, he goes out in search of food. Instead he finds a hyena and half forces him to cook for him. With the threat of drool staining his shirt and a crocodile refusing to let go, Ruggie gives in. What he doesn't realise is that this may be the first but not the last time...
Relationships: Self insert/canon, Sumi Gallidi/Ruggie Bucchi, self insert/canon - Relationship
Kudos: 15





	Sleepy desires

**Author's Note:**

> AHHHHHHH ANOTHER SELF INDULGENT SHIP INCOMING~! so i may have gotten this random idea that quickly escalated but that is okay because there will always be more uwu  
> I looked up a lot about crocodiles for this lmaooo and I went off of what I knew about dogs for Ruggie's ears and tail behaviour so if I'm wrong, I'm so sorry qwq I realise my Ruggie characterisation and my Leona are reallyyyy off and I'm bad at that but, oh well, I tried!!   
> Introducing~~ Sumi Gallidi! If you go through my ao3 acc you'll learn of two of my other sonas, Sumi K and KanSumi. There's another yet to come that I actually reference to in Two Words in this one lmao. Anyway, hope you enjoy it~!

Yawning as he woke up, Sumi Gallidi wiped away the sleep from his eyes, failing as another yawn attacked. He wasn't used to waking up this early. The morning practice hadn't even started yet! Drearily, he stumbled through the corridors, only being held upright by his reptilian tail that snaked to the floor. He wished he was back in bed but he was now too hungry to sleep. Blurred golden eyes lazily flicked from side to side as he wandered like a drunk, searching for the kitchen. What he was to do there, he had no idea as he couldn't cook at all. Just then, a figure walked into his sight, scratching his dirty blonde hair as his hyena ears flickered. Not thinking clearly, Sumi called out to him.

"Bucchi-senpaiii."

Hearing his name called, Ruggie paused in his stride and then froze as Sumi sleepily lay his head on his shoulder, too disorientated to realise what he was doing.

"What-? Hey! Get off of me!"

Though smaller, the half crocodile was very heavy and wouldn't budge despite his best attempts to shrug his head off.

"What do you want Gallidi??"

"Mmmmgh. I'mm sleepy."

Huffing, Ruggie rolled his eyes and tried again to push him off, bordering on pulling his shoulder length dark turquoise hair. Bordering between turquoise and dark green, it was messy with bed hair and loose, free from the confines of the normal high ponytail he usually wore.

"Go back to bed then!"

"Wamt foood. I can't sleep without it."

"This is what you get for missing dinner last night! Deal with it yourself!"

Sumi pouted into his shoulder, tugging on the short sleeves of Ruggie's dorm uniform.

"Wamt fooood. And I can't coook."

Exasperatedly, Ruggie sighed and gave in, accepting that he couldn't shake him off.

"Fine already! I'll buy you something if you pay me a few hundred madols."

"The shop isn't open thooo. I want food nowww."

Irritated, he scoffed and groaned at the other's whining.

"Not my problem! Go make something yourself!"

"I can't cooook. Pleaseeee or I'll drool on your shoulder."

Having been threatened, Ruggie's eyes widened and he sighed, agreeing.

"Jeez already! Fine, I'll make you something to eat with what we have in the kitchen if you help me clean up Leona-san's room. Deal?"

Sumi replied happily.

"Deal~!"

"Now get off of me!"

Ruggie ended up marching Sumi to Leona's room, the crocodile sleepily drooping the entire way. After waking up Leona for morning practice, the two of them set to work on cleaning his room, picking things up from the floor and changing the sheets. Sumi was pretty useful, being able to maneuver his tail and pick things up from the floor easily. Once they were done, he clapped his hands slowly, still half asleep and not quite awake. Ruggie saw that his work was done and sighed. 

"Fine, let's go to the kitchen then."

Happy, the crocodile cheered and even grumpy, Ruggie had to laugh at his enthusiasm, even more so when Sumi started copying him.

"You're really out of it aren't you? You'd be killed any other day you're like this."

"Noooo I'd bite anyone who tries! I can still bite right?"

Concerned, Sumi tested his jaw, opening his mouth up and down, displaying his large sharp teeth. His senior laughed again as they headed to the kitchen.

"Shishishishi I'd better hope so! You can't eat if you can't bite right?"

As they entered the kitchen, he took his place sifting through the cupboards as Sumi hopped onto the counter. 

"Now let's see what we have here- hey get down from there! You can't just sit on the counter!"

Swishing his tail and barely escaping knocking down things, Sumi whined.

"Whyyy I want to sit hereee! The floor's so coold."

"Your tail’s blocking all the space I'm gonna cook on! Do you want food or not?"

Grumbling as he got off, Sumi sat on the floor, becoming fascinated with the wall instead. Ruggie sighed, tired of the day already.

"You're just as bad as Leona-san. You're really different when you're tired huh, I don't think I normally see you like this Gallidi..."

Grabbing a few ingredients, Ruggie lit the cooker and started cooking as Sumi hummed happily in wait.

Once he was finished, Ruggie set down a plate on the counter and gave a second one to Sumi who brightened up immediately at the sight.

"Thank you~ Bucchi-senpai~!"

"Yeah yeah, thank me with money or free food next time."

"I'll try! Now then, thanks for the meal~"

Munching happily on his meal, Sumi seemed to sober up with the energy, earnestly finishing the plate. Raising an eyebrow, the other watched him curiously. Once he was finished, he stood up from the floor and drank some water, straight from the tap like a weirdo, before beaming brightly at Ruggie.

“Thank you! God, I’m sorry I randomly grabbed you to do that, I was so out of it...”

Ruggie huffed, a fork in his mouth as he narrowed his eyes.

“You better be sorry! You’re heavy you know!?”

His stormy grey eyes flicked away, not looking into Sumi’s golden ones as his expression softened.

“Still, it wasn’t all that bad. I might let you do it again if you help me with Leona-san’s laundry more.”

“Deal. Your cooking’s amazing and so much better than the shop’s. I’ll be counting on you to uphold that ‘kay~?”

Without waiting for a reply, the crocodile left the kitchen, waving goodbye with a grin. Ruggie hardly had the chance to call out to stop him and tell him it was a joke. Groaning as his gaze flew over the empty dishes that Sumi had left, Ruggie finished his own food, snickering to himself.

“What a weirdo. I didn’t even try to make this taste nice.”

This pattern begant to repeat, with Sumi constantly waking up too early, at hours where only Ruggie would be awake to eat his own breakfast before waking up Leona. Each time, Sumi would sleepily lay his head on his shoulder and tug at his sleeve. Each time, Ruggie gave in and offered to make him food in exchange for helping with his chores. At first, he would only use the random scraps and leftovers from the kitchen, not bothered to put in any effort for the crocodile’s food. But even so, Sumi would praise him and his cooking endlessly, no matter what he was given. The praise was… satisfying. Ruggie didn’t often get as much validation from Leona and he hardly cooked for anyone else. Little by little, it was starting to get to him, he’d almost hope for Sumi to wander up to him and kept trying a little harder for each meal. The endless shower of praise turned out to be worth it. It would raise in volume the more effort he put into a dish so he started buying things just to prepare for them, beginning to take note of what Sumi would and wouldn’t eat in the morning. Leona scoffed as he noticed the extra bags he was carrying back.

“Oi. What’re you doing?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“That’s my money you’re using. It ain’t for that puny crocodile is it?”

Ruggie froze, his ears twitching as his tail went straight up. Nervously, he laughed.

“Why would you think that? He just helps me out with cleaning your room sometimes.”

“I’ve seen you around him. You’re happier.”

“No…? You got things wrong Leona-san~ He’s just the only other one awake at the time, who else is going to help? You?”

Groaning, the other discontinued the conversation, leaving with a sigh.

“Just don’t spend too much on your boyfriend, you still work for me. Got it?”

“Yes yes~”

It took a minute before the words registered and Ruggie hastily added.

“Wait- he’s not my boyfriend-! Ah, he’s gone.”

Glaring at Sumi, Ruggie loudly complained, pausing from eating his own food.

“Aren’t you finishing that?”

Sumi made a face, it wasn’t disgusted or angered, more of a pained expression. It was hard to pinpoint what he was thinking as he tried to formulate it into words. It irked Ruggie a little, he hated seeing others waste food and he’d even gone out of his way to grab ingredients from the shop that he’d hardly used before this time. 

“...It’s too heavy for the morning. I can’t… I don’t normally eat such a full meal before the day really starts.”

Huffing, the hyena turned back to his own food, muttering grimly.

“Really, just as spoiled as Leona-san huh? Just wasting food like that and all.”

His ears twitched as his tail lifted in annoyance. Sumi noticed and guilt crashed down on him as he pushed the plate away.

“...Fine I’ll eat it. It’d be a shame to not finish your fabulous cooking.”

“Nah, no need to force yourself, give it here I’ll eat it for you.”

Irritated, Ruggie tried to swipe the half finished plate of food away from the other, who pulled it out of his reach, shaking his head.

“N-No it’s fine. I should finish my food. You took the time to make it for me and all.”

Scowling, the other rolled his eyes, knowing immediately that he’d likely just dump it all into the bin when he wasn’t looking.

“Fine, have it your way. Really, even when I made rice the way your hometown makes it!”

A faint red dusted Sumi’s face, realisation dawning as he looked down at the food.

“...Oh. That’s. That’s really sweet of you Bucchi-senpai.”

Ruggie registered his own words, his ears and tail going up in shock as he recalled what he’d said and mentally cursed himself for it.

“I-I wouldn’t say sweet. I’d heard from Jack that you said you thought making rice this way would be too hard for me and wanted to prove you wrong.”

Pouting as he looked back at the crocodile, he felt a pang in his heart as he met the other’s seemingly dreamy gaze.

“You… You did huh? Well, I think you certainly did prove me wrong~! This tastes just like home, just as great as the food I used to have there.”

Bashfully looking away, he shook his head.

“No need to lie, I know it isn’t that good.”

With a slight frown, Sumi huffed, folding his arms.

“No! That’s not true! Besides, if anyone was to know, it’d be me wouldn’t it? I think you did a really amazing job on it~!”

“Then why won’t you eat it...”

He hadn’t meant to blurt that out. Especially not in that pathetic whiny tone. But the words shook Sumi, his eyes widening as he froze a little. Shifting uncomfortably, he held the plate again.

“It’s not that… It’s just… Mmmm I love rice and all but eating it in the morning feels wrong for me, y’know? Feels too heavy. I’m sorry though, I’ll finish it all. It’d be good to have some carbs before practice after all.”

Unsure what else to say, Ruggie nodded and merely ate his own food. Soon, they were both done, Sumi bouncing a little in his seat. He seemed surprised and proud to have finished, grinning to himself as he looked down at the empty plate. Pfft. Finding it adorable, Ruggie shook his head with a smile and cleaned his plate. When Sumi came to the sink to do the same, he noticed something on his cheek. 

It was a smear of curry leftover from when he had been eating. Starting to cackle, Ruggie pointed it out. 

“Shishishi~ How’d you even get curry over there? You’re such a messy eater.”

Blinking slowly, Sumi looked at him with a dazed look and lifted a hand to wipe it off. Unfortunately, he kept missing, somehow, which only made the other laugh more.

“Okay okay, hold still.”

Gripping his wrist lightly, Ruggie leaned forward and licked it off his cheek, smirking as the very same cheek reddened instantly.

“There~ Got it~”

Ignoring the light warmth in his own face, he nonchalantly went back to cleaning the dishes. Breaking out of the silent stupor that had come over him in the moment, Sumi felt his mind scrabbling for sense in the situation and instead decided to laugh it off, joking.

“...Bro what the hell, I didn’t know you were that into not wasting food~”

After that incident, Ruggie started to note the foods that Sumi seemed more or less likely to eat. Their shared meals began to grow from just the morning to other parts of the day, so he’d have Sumi run errands or do the laundry for him. In return, he’d make lunch or dinner since Sumi hated having to go to the cafeteria and have his tail stepped on. Seeing how quickly he’d finish the plates later in the day banished any of his fears that his cooking wasn’t good enough. Not that he had any of course, he didn’t really care after all. Sumi, in turn, noticed the extra effort that Ruggie would go through for him. And after feeling his heart implode from the sweetness of the gesture, he put extra effort into his praise and finished his meals more. Monopolising the fact Ruggie was used to it, he would randomly pounce on the senior in the halls and tug at his sleeve, asking for his delicious food. At first, he had thought he’d be bothering him too much by doing that. But when he saw the small smile Ruggie would hide and the way his tail would wag excitedly, he gathered that the senior liked that he was so eager to taste his cooking. His promise to compensate him wasn't empty though and he did pay Ruggie a few times. When he was broke though, he used his time helping out with his chores instead, glad to be able to spend more time with him anyway. It was all fine and cheery until a week where Ruggie noticed he hadn’t been approached by the crocodile at all. Walking down the halls, he felt flighty, looking around for the familiar bob of dark green hair to come rushing towards him; it never did. Sumi hadn’t asked him for food for almost a week and a half. 

It was almost a relief when he felt the familiar weight of the crocodile’s head sinking into his shoulder again. Laughing with a smile, he strained his pupils trying to look at Sumi without moving his head.

“And where have you been? I’m starting to get tired from having to do all my chores alone again~!”

The joke fell on dead and empty air. Quickly, he noticed something different about Sumi. The crocodile wasn’t sleepy or cheery like normal, silent and distant as he just stood there, face buried into Ruggie’s shoulder. Softly, his fingers reached up and tugged at Ruggie’s shirt, pulling on each corner on both sides of his waist. A blush dusted his face as he felt Sumi's fingers brush past his sides through the fabric. Wasn't this a bit too touchy?

“E-Eh? Do you still want food?”

The mop of green shook his head. Something was off and it almost made Ruggie worried. About having to do more work than normal of course, not for Sumi or anything. Instead, the crocodile tugged at his waist again, nearly slipping his arms around it. Glancing down and noting it was different from how he normally pulled on his sleeve, Ruggie pieced it together and gently shook Sumi off. For once, the crocodile didn’t resist, gaze facing the floor as his tail lay flat against it. Unnaturally loose, his hair hung like curtains around his face, rendering his expression undreable. Ruggie pulled him back to his own room and softly closed the door before taking hold of Sumi’s shoulders. Nervously, he took in a deep breath, uncertain how on earth he was meant to console him.

“Are you ok?”

Sumi shook his head, gripping his elbow.

“...Nah. But it’s nothing, don’t worry.”

“That’s literally not how this works, you can’t just-”

As he was about to scoff at the answer, it dawned on Ruggie what he’d been asking for.

“...Do you want a hug?”

Perking up, Sumi nodded, barely giving Ruggie any time to react before wrapping his arms around him and squeezing gently. Taken aback, the hyena froze for a second before hugging back, tentatively reciprocating the gesture. The other seemed to sink into his shoulder again, burrowing his face into his neck. He wasn’t explicitly crying but.... Ruggie had the feeling he was on the verge to. Sighing, he carefully patted his back, soothingly stroking his fingers along his spine like how his grandmother used to calm him down. Groaning internally, he wondered why he had to deal with such troublesome things, it wasn’t like anyone in the dorm to show their feelings, their vulnerability like this. Then again, that may be why Sumi turned to him of all people to show it to. They had grown quite close over the months… Still, he’d never seen him quite like this, silent and without his normal perky smile. Sometimes he’d wondered where the boundless happiness had come from, it seemed he knew it wasn’t quite so boundless now. Feeling his ears twitch as he tried to figure out how to deal with the new bundle of feelings dripping onto his shoulder, he kept petting Sumi’s back and asked.

“Hey hey~ what happened? Your money got stolen?”

His tone was light and joking but his worry still shone through, evident in his voice. Sumi didn’t face him, speaking into his shoulder and nuzzling into Ruggie’’s scarf.

“...I...It’s stupid.”

“Well I don’t really care either way so-”

“Yeah. I know you don’t. Don’t worry,” Sumi quickly released him from the hug, smiling though there were tears slipping down his cheeks, “a hug was enough. Thanks.”

Ruggie stared at him in astonishment as he just pretended like he wasn’t crying. What was he meant to do? What was he meant to say?? Definitely not what he just did, that’s for sure. It hurt his heart to see Sumi so sad and feel afraid to tell him why. Before he could attempt leaving, Ruggie quickly gripped onto one of his hands and shook his head.

“N-No, I didn’t mean- I- Uh-”

His brain went blank, unable to think of what to say next. He didn’t know how to comfort the junior but something in him hated the pained look on his face. The way Sumi’s golden eyes, as bright as the sun, shone with a silvery sheen of tears as they looked up at him. The way his emerald hair, as green as the leaves of a tree, gave shade to not only his neck but also his expression. The whimpering look of sadness and clenching fists that gripped his elbow. But he hated seeing how Sumi just shook his head and kept smiling anyway. 

“D-Don’t force it, I know I’m just making you uncomfortable, I’m sorry-”

“That’s not true! I- I want to know. Why you’re sad. It can’t be stupid if you’re this upset right?”

His eyes widened as he looked back into the determined grey gaze of his senior, his stormy grey eyes fixed on Sumi’s golden ones. Without a word, Ruggie stepped forward and enveloped him in another hug, gently pushing his face into his shoulder again.

“You can tell me anything alright? I’m not gonna make it a deal or anything, I’m fine with… trying to help.”

Sumi was silent, starting to tear up even more and he gripped Ruggie’s back fiercely, holding onto him with all his might. As he was a crocodile, that was a lot stronger than he thought and Ruggie winced, prompting him to loosen his grip.

“S-Sorry, that’s just so sweet I… It’s really nothing I’m just… I miss my home.”

Ruggie’s ear twitched, flickering as he heard the word. Thinking back to his own hometown, he didn’t share the sentiment fully but… he too missed his family, the streets he grew up playing in, the smell of homemade cooking out of whatever scraps they could find turned into something delicious. Smiling softly, he held up a hand and softly stroked the back of Sumi’s head soothingly.

“That’s all? That’s fine isn't it? I miss it sometimes too.”

The crocodile was quiet, merely nodding a little. Immediately catching onto his thoughts, Ruggie quickly added.

“I don’t think that’s stupid at all. You’ve been here for a while and it must be very different right? Even though the dorm’s like this and all, nothing’s as good as the real thing right?”

“...Yeah….”

“Hey,” Ruggie looked up at the ceiling as he spoke, careful with his words yet carrying a hint of curiosity in them, “tell me about your home. It’s not the same part of the Savannah I'm from, right?”

“No it’s… it’s a bit similar but not really. I’m born from the Savannah but I grew up closer to the Land of Hot Sands, where my adoptive sister lives. That’s why I prefer things like rice, though I’m not too big on tea.”

He started to laugh, which Ruggie was glad to hear again. Without unwrapping him from the hug, he pulled Sumi onto his bed so they could sit down. He kept prompting for the other to keep talking, glad as he brightened up a little with the outlet of speaking. The small glee on his face and his adorable laugh were so cute that Ruggie wanted to keep that smile on his face forevermore...

“Eh?”

"I asked about your home too. I get it if you don't wanna share though."

Ruggie's ears flinched, flattening in shock as he registered the question. They'd stopped hugging and had just been lying down across the blanket, just talking for a while. Sumi had calmed down, trails of his tears having dried down his cheeks. His skin glimmered as Ruggie noticed spots of scales showing, a patch underneath his chin, under his eyes and sporadically placed elsewhere. Not staring too long, he looked away, flicking his eyes to the ceiling instead of the junior in front of him, who was leaning on his side.

"My home… it was very different from here, that's for sure. You wouldn't last a minute there, I know it. It wasn't the best place and I definitely don't want to go back there but…"

Softening his face as he remembered his family, he smiled, all the tension relaxing from his face.

"Obaa-chan always made it seem alright. She had this way with words and her food was the best in the world, no matter what she had to make do with. It always calmed us down after fights. She and I would stay up some nights, just cooking…"

He sniffed the air, closing his eyes as if he could still smell the scent of his grandmother's cooking wafting up from the kitchen. Sumi gazed at him, resting his face against the blanket as he watched Ruggie speak. He wasn't normally like this, so quiet from his normally mischievous exterior. They shared an air of longing, the hyena's eyes closed and peaceful yet slightly sad.

"I bet you cook just like her."

Startled at the silence breaking, Ruggie snapped open his eyes and stared at Sumi from the side. The other smiled sweetly back.

"Nah… I can't compare to her food. A-Anyway, that's enough about me, do you feel any better yet?"

Hastily diverting the topic, Ruggie flipped to his other side, turning away from Sumi. Pouting, the other merely shifted forward and propped his chin onto Ruggie's shoulder, slipping his arms through his sides to wrap around him.

"H-Hey hey! What're you doing?? I didn't say you could hug me out of nowhere!"

Ruggie's voice squeaked in a high pitched yip, his eyes widening. Sumi paused, slowly looking at him and noting the faint blush on his cheeks.

"Ah, sorry. Do you want me to stop? I won't touch you out of nowhere again."

For a moment, he wanted to slam his guard up again and say yes but… Ruggie could see that Sumi's smile held no ill intent, a rarity in the dorm indeed, and that he was genuine in his promise. Sighing, he looked away, muttering.

"It's fine. Just give a warning next time."

Snickering, the other nodded, rubbing the scales under his chin on Ruggie’s shoulder.

“‘Course! Just tell me if it gets uncomfortable!”

“...You sure are touchy aren’tcha...”

Sumi laughed at his sigh.

“Yep~ I don’t mind it since I’m close with you.”

Curious, the hyena lifted a hand and scratched a little at the scales.

“Do you mind if I do this?”

Blinking, Sumi shook his head, his voice faltering and going quieter.

“N-No not that much-?”

Smiling, Ruggie kept at it, curious as he traced his fingertips over the scales. They were firm and bumpy, sharp with little edges everywhere. He had often joked that they looked like a beard in the past. Silent, Sumi stewed quietly, his cheeks reddening as Ruggie went one. Eventually, he gave in and began to grin, giddily smiling as he felt his chin getting scratched. He leant into the touch, resting his chin further into the hyena’s hand softly. Raising an eyebrow, Ruggie continued, noting his glee. But then he heard something weird. It was like a loud growl but forced out of the throat quickly, fitting the description of a bellow more. Sumi’s face flushed, his ears burning as he quickly zipped off of Ruggie and held his hands to his mouth, turning to face away from him. A couple heartbeats passed and Ruggie blinked.

“...Was that you-?”

Without a word, Sumi nodded furiously, still refusing to look at him. Trying to piece things together, Ruggie thought of the sound, the terrifying growl that came out. His ears flattened, his tail drooping as he came to the conclusion.

“So… you didn’t like that?”

Releasing his lips from the death grip of his own fingers, Sumi hastily denied the accusation.

“No! I did! That- Oh god I can’t believe I did that out loud, that’s. That’s what crocodiles do when we’re happy.”

He whispered an additional bit, his voice slowly sinking as his hands lifted to cover his mouth again.

“Or… when we’re in love… but I normally go quiet and flustered.”

Ruggie’s ears flickered, their sensitive hearing picking up on the words. He took a moment to think about it, remembering Sumi’s dreamy grin and the mirth that had seemed to shine even just a little through the sound. He smiled. Quietly, he lay a hand over his eyes, facing away from Sumi as well so they were back to back, and covered the blushing grin on his face.

“I think it’s cute. It’s as loud and adorable as your laugh.”

Sumi felt his ears burning and he refused to reply, desperately batting at his blush to go away. Moments passed in silence, both of them trying to control their faces as Ruggie’s tail brushed against the blanket in broad strokes. Out of nowhere, the door slammed open.

Leona yawned as he peeked in, growling half-heartedly.

“Ruggie where are you, I want-”

Seeing the two dorks on the bed, Ruggie’s tail wagging behind a flushed Sumi with his head in his hands, he took a moment to process the scene. It almost seemed to wake him up for a moment as he laughed.

“What’re you both acting like corpses for? First kiss? Ruggie I thought you could do better courting than that!”

Ears flaring up, Ruggie looked up, turning around and sitting up to stare at Leona. The dorm leader looked back at his flustered face and laughed again, amused by them both.

“Do us all a treat and finish up. I need you to grab my lunch.”

Closing the door, he growled playfully. Ruggie made a move to stop him but paused, sighing as the lion’s tail had already flicked off, walking away with loud prideful footsteps. Sumi giggled, looking up. It was the first sound he’d made since they’d fallen to silence. Flicking his tail to lightly whack Ruggie’s leg, he pushed himself up, shrugging.

“Well, you heard him. Ain’t gonna do us no good to just sit here I guess. Do you want me to grab what he needs for you?”

Glancing down at Sumi’s deep green tail, Ruggie shook his head.

“No I’ll do it. I’m faster than you and that massive tail that you lug around, shishshishi.”

Sumi blinked and then snickered, nodding. As he got up to leave, he turned back and grinned.

“You know, I think your laugh is really adorable too. I hope I get to hear it more.”

“Sumi wait!”

His hand still held the door handle as he looked back at Ruggie, the other’s blushing face filled with a touch of concern.

“Yeah?”

“...How much did you eat this week?”

Eyes widening, Sumi scratched the back of his neck, his eyes averted form Ruggie’s as he avoided his gaze.

“Aha, I’ve been eating enough. Made it more of a habit to go to the cafeteria.”

“You’re a terrible liar and both of us know it. You’ve hardly eaten anything haven’t you.”

“...Ya caught me.”

Sighing, he shrugged, his hands falling open in flourish.

“You never came up to me at all this week, why didn’t you have any food?”

Ruggie’s voice was tinged with worry, even more so as he saw the other nervously grip his elbow with a hand.

“Well… I felt so homesick it didn’t feel right to eat food that wasn’t from home. Plus I tend to eat less when I'm sad. I love the food here but...”

His voice wavered, quivering in emotions. Spotting the furrowed brows and the way he seemed to close in on himself, Ruggie sighed, moving forward to open the door. Grabbing Sumi’s arm, he began to drag him to the kitchen.

“Leona-san can wait, we’re getting some food in you  _ now. _ I’ll make you some rice, you said my food tastes just like home giht?”

He grinned at the other who smiled back.

“Yeah… Thanks Ruggie.”

In that moment, Sumi nearly stopped to lunge forward and peck his cheek in thanks, feeling like words wouldn’t be enough. He stopped himself just in time, quickly banishing the thought from his mind with a nervous laugh. As they walked, he watched how Ruggie’s ears bounced with each step, how his tail would wag a little with each movement and even though his grip was light, it was firm on Sumi’s arm. Softly smiling, he gripped Ruggie’s wrist and pulled on the arm, laughing as the other fell backwards into him,

“”Hey-! Why’d you do that?”

“Can I hold your arm as we walk?”

Blinking, Ruggie ignored his tail’s furious wagging as he nonchalantly replied.

“Sure? Why?”

Looping his arms around Ruggie’s, Sumi beamed, leaning into his shoulder.

“No reason~ Let’s go let’s go!” 

A little confused, Ruggie let out a short laugh and walked him to the kitchen, filling with glee as he ate and praised him once more.

The months came and went and it became a common occurrence for Sumi to walk up to Ruggie, a common sight for most of the students. He normally acted sleepy as he did so, even though he'd adjusted his schedule since then to stay awake better. It was harder in the winter months, Ruggie began to carry scarves and gloves ready for the cold blooded reptile to whine about the freezing conditions of the dorm. He was a lot more sleepy and reserved, taken to using as little energy as he could. Meaning Ruggie had a lot of trouble keeping him from falling to the floor or keeping him walking. One day, they were folding laundry together, sitting on Leona's bed as they did so, and he felt a large weight on his shoulder. Turning, he saw deep emerald green hair shoved in his face and heard steady breaths of sleep. Sumi had fallen asleep on him. 

"What the hell?"

Stunned, he whispered to himself and tried to shake Sumi off, they were on a bed! He could sleep on the blankets! Annoyingly, in doing so, Sumi's head slipped from his shoulder and onto his lap. Tail shooting up, Ruggie yipped in surprise, instantly paralysed. It took a moment for him to relax, his round ears flickering as he gazed down at Sumi. Wispy jaded strands of hair fell messily over his face, silently concealing his lidded amber eyes. Ruggie had heard that crocodiles had three eyelids, he mentally noted to ask Sumi about it when he was awake. Sunlight drifted through the window and gracefully wafted in, highlighting the edges of his hair and burning the dark green to a warmer one, like the autumn leaves. Sumi had once told him that autumn leaves reminded him of Ruggie's hair, which he always mistook for being brown. Ruggie always replied that he was blind. Even amidst the light and deep in sleep, Sumi's mouth was set in a grim line with his brows furrowed as if in pain. Impulsively, Ruggie ran his fingers on the dark turquoise scales under his chin and scratched it a little. Almost immediately, his expression shifted. Sumi looked peaceful and less tense, his frown relaxed into a more neutral line, tips of his lips curved up in almost a smile, and he appeared to just be content. Ruggie had the strange urge to kiss him awake, something he shoved aside immediately as his ears burned bright red.

"Oh~?" 

Ears swiveling as they heard Leona's voice, Ruggie straightened instantly.

"Leona-san! I just-"

"So now you're slacking off to be with your boytoy huh?"

Losing his tone, Ruggie narrowed his eyes and growled in reply.

"Don't call him that! It's not like we're even boyfriends or anything."

Smirking, the lion walked inside and pointed to his tail.

"Well your tail says otherwise. It's wagging so much like you're a puppy."

Scowling, Ruggie huffed, curling his tail to the otherwise.

"Shut up."

"Don't deny it. You haven't claimed him as yours yet?"

"What-"

"Better do it soon. Not like you'll receive any opposition."

Carefully raising an eyebrow, the hyena asked.

"What do you mean?"

Leona laughed, smirking mockingly.

"Wow Ruggie, I didn't take you for the dense type. Do you really think that crocodile is so openly honest to everyone?"

"Yes? He really is? Have you seen him talk to people?"

Deflected successfully, Leona scoffed and rolled his eyes, picking up the thing he'd entered the room for.

"Whatever, you're constantly drenched in that reptile's smell after all. Finish cleaning up already."

With that, he left Ruggie to solve the problem of Sumi still fast asleep on his lap.

That was the first time Sumi fell asleep on him but it wasn't the last. It ended up occurring so often that once he felt a long drawn out tug on his shirt and the weight of a forehead on his shoulder, Ruggie would merely sigh and give in. Forgetting about any plans he had for the next hour, he'd push Sumi down onto the nearest surface that could act as a bed and watch over him as he slept. Sometimes the crocodile would shiver with nightmares and he had to hold his hand or softly scratch his chin to soothe him. Often, he'd fall asleep himself, resting his chin on the other's shoulder or curling an arm about his waist. Ruggie always woke up first though, or so he thought. In reality, he was always the first to move, his ears twitched and his tail flicking about as he yawned himself awake. Sumi would already be awake, having smiled at his sleeping face and softly stroked his dirty blonde hair as he slumbered. He always faked being asleep afterwards, taking a while to "wake up" groggily. Leona took notice of these breaks and gave Ruggie hell for them, hypocritically and as if he didn't sleep all day too. Sometimes they would wake up to more laundry to do or the room trashed by Leona's rummaging. It was annoying as hell to deal with, especially with his smug smirk afterwards. Most of the time, Sumi would wake up and go straight back to sleep with a whine before being dragged off the bed by Ruggie.

It became their normal to not need words. Ruggie had already noticed the difference in Sumi's behaviour depending on the situation but he was even quicker to perceive the different ways that he would tug on his shirt and the meaning to it. The entire dorm would watch in subtle shock as the crocodile could just walk upto the vice dorm and without a word, he'd know exactly what he wanted. Sumi had taken to pouncing on him, hiding behind corners sleepily before running out to grab at his arm, making a biting noise as he did so. At first he'd alarmed Ruggie, his sharp teeth ending up way too close for comfort, but he never came in contact with them. They were mock attacks at best and quickly, he adjusted to being greeted by them and then by his adorable sleepy smile. Once he figured out that Sumi was playing around and that he didn't do it for anyone else, he figured he'd go as far as to call it cute. Jack noticed this, having already observed how Sumi used to do it when he was merely sleepy and having been by his side as he waited for Ruggie to turn the corner. It intrigued him how the cold didn't seem to bother him as much anymore and that it was rare he was actually sleepy during the day. It irked him slightly to see the lying act.

"Why do you continue to act as if your vision is clouded? You should be honest instead of pretending that you're sleepy and can't think properly."

Jack growled, curling his claws into a fist as he walked with Sumi. The other laughed, holding his hands behind his head - a habit he'd picked up from Ruggie.

"Nah nah~ I don't do that! I'm wide awake right now aren't I?"

"You know what I mean!! Whenever you go to Bucchi-senpai!"

"Ah~ that~"

Snickering, he shrugged, closing his eyes as he answered. It led him to miss the twitching hyena ears as another student walked down the other end of the hall.

"Eh. It'd make it less awkward for Bucchi-senpai, I doubt he'd actually do anything with me if he knew I was fully awake since I know it's just out of pity."

A giggling laugh interrupted their conversation as a hand gripped Sumi's shoulder, a lazy grin following to lean on it, startling Jack.

"Eh~? Sumi-chan's worried he won't get to be served by me?"

Flushing, he shook his head, staring at Ruggie.

"Where'd you-? Nevermind, no no I just like spending time with you. But isn't it weird for you since this only started because of my half asleep impulsiveness…"

Ruggie's grin faded, a weird look settling on his face. Flicking Sumi's forehead, he raised an eyebrow.

"Hey. What kind of weird as hell thought process do you have to think that? You know I'll do practically anything if you pay me enough! Shishishishi"

As he giggled, Jack watched and started to smirk as Sumi blurted out.

"Anything? What, even like kiss me?"

Ruggie blinked in shock. Taking a moment to think, he leaned a little closer with a sleazy grin and a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

"Sure~ for 100000 madols maybe~!"

Jack snickered, laughing at his nonchalant tone despite how fast his tail was wagging. Not having expected an answer, Sumi's eyes were wide and in shock as he stuttered.

"S-Sure."

That was the last word spoken before the giggling laugh walked away.

"...What are you looking for?"

Jack leant on the doorway as Sumi ravaged through all of his drawers.

"A hairband."

Glancing at his hair, the upper half tied up in a high ponytail, he scoffed.

"Don't lie to me."

"Fine. My wallet."

"Why?"

"I need to see how much money I have."

Raising an eyebrow, Jack smirked, already knowing the answer.

"Do you need something from the shop?"

Even though he was faced away from the door, he could see Sumi's ears burning.

"No. But I do the odd jobs at the Mostro Lounge and Sam's shop so I want to know how much I got saved up."

Discovering the wallet within a collection of gemstones, he held it up triumphantly and whooped.

"Huzzah! I found it!"

Curious, Jack came closer as he counted it out. Feeling his breath hovering above him, Sumi finished, looking up at him with a wink and a grin.

"I'll have 100 000 within a week~!"

**Author's Note:**

> So you know that random bellowing thing Sumi G did? Yeah Thats What Crocodiles Do When Happy. Look it up its weirdly adorable. Crocodiles are actually Really Adorable. Crocodile happy behaviours are actually hard to document, everything like chin scratches and the mock pounces were things I found but the bellowing noise is like. what they do when they mate but also when they're happy and I'm uncertain about that but here's my take on it and if I'm incorrect I'll say it's cos he's half human too~ Nishishishi
> 
> I COULD have ended it on a kiss scene but i think I will leave it to your imaginations honestly. If you really want to know I might make a short >500 words fic on it. I might get curious myself and do it anyway actually pfft.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed my little fic! Leave a comment of kudos if you did~! Don't have to but they make my day.


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